Put Josh Brown Back on the Field

In a perfect world New York Giants kicker Josh Brown would be in jail for the domestic abuse he has inflicted on his family. However, Josh Brown is not in jail and will likely never face anymore criminal charges, which is why he desperately needs to play.

Josh Brown (37) has been an NFL kicker since 2003. In 2015, he made the Pro Bowl and has made 83.7% of his field goals attempts during his career. Josh Brown has been a member of five different NFL teams, including the Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams. According to Spotrac, Brown has made over $21 million as a NFL kicker.

According to the Giants, Josh Brown often leads the team in prayer and is a role model for younger players.

Josh and Molly Brown married in 2008. They have divorced after eight years of marriage because of Josh Brown’s relentless abuse.

Court documents reveled that Josh Brown had physically assaulted Molly Brown when she was six months pregnant with their daughter in 2009.

“There was a box of mail that we had initially were arguing over,” Molly Brown said. “I took it, I like threw it off the desk and the papers went everywhere and he—I remember grabbing my shoulders and like just pushing me into the door.” During Molly Brown’s pregnancy , her husband Josh accused her of being a gold-digger and getting pregnant on purpose.

In 2013 Molly Brown obtained a protective custody order on her then husband Josh Brown. Molly Brown said she dropped the order against her then husband because of the progress the couple made during relationship counseling.

In April 2014 according to Molly Brown, Josh Brown pushed her into a large mirror in the couples bedroom. He then threw her on the floor and jumped on top of her. Josh Brown then shoved his wife’s face into the carpet. Molly Brown stated the incident caused pain in her arm and elbow for months.

In 2015 things got worse for the Brown family that was now being terrorized by Josh Brown.

According to a released 911 tapes, Molly Brown called the cops on Josh Brown on two consecutive days, on May 22 and 23. The first because Josh Brown according Molly, had genuinely got in her son’s face.” The son Molly Brown is referring to is her 16-year old son that Josh Brown is a stepfather. The second call occurred after Josh Brown had grabbed Molly Brown by the wrist during an argument.

“I got really scared. And I just went and locked myself in my bedroom again,” Molly Brown said on the call. “They came last night and they said if anything else happened just to call back and I don’t want anything to get any worse.”

Josh Brown was arrested on fourth- degree assault charges and released the following day on $2000 bail. It was sometime after this that Josh Brown started going to counseling for his criminal behavior, and when he started his journal.

In one of his journal entries, Josh Brown wrote about how he treated his wife Molly.

“I have physically, mentally, emotionally and verbally been a repulsive man…I have abused my wife.'”

Court documents reveled earlier this year a photo of Molly Brown’s upper leg with a large bruise. Brown admitted to the incident in the journal writing that he bruised and injured her leg with a zipper.

In another journal entry Josh Brown wrote that he believed his then wife was his slave.

“I viewed myself as God basically and she was my slave,” Josh Brown wrote. “I carried an overwhelming sense of entitlement because I put money higher than God and I used it as a power tool.”

This year Josh Brown had at least two incidents of domestic violence. In February at the NFL Pro Bowl, a drunk Josh Brown was arguing with his stepson. He then kicked the bathroom door off the hinges which hit his stepson in the arm. NFL security had to relocate Brown’s family to another hotel and did not disclose this information to Josh Brown to keep them safe.

April of this year was the second incident. Josh Brown during an argument of with Molly Brown held up his fist like he was going to punch her. He then reportedly said, “I want to knock you out so bad.”

Josh Brown has also made threats on Molly Brown’s life saying that he wanted to kill her. She at first did not but eventually took the threats seriously.

It was also in April of this year that Josh Brown signed a two-year $4 million extension with the Giants.

Josh Brown was placed on the NFL Commissioner’s exempt list last week and and released on Oct 25.

This is the wrong decision the league needs to put him back on the field as soon as possible.

For the sake of his family

In a Deadspin article written by Diana Moskovitz, Moskovitz makes an important point about the link between unemployment and domestic violence. Moskovitz details that the rate of abuse increases with the rise of unemployment. Also, Moskovitz points out that Josh Brown will need a job to pay child support to his now ex-wife.

The main topic of the Brown’s arguments was finances. If Brown is going to make child support and spousal support payments he needs a job, why not use the one he has had for the last 13 years.

If the league really cares about the wives of NFL players, they should allow Josh Brown to play. Unless they are going to pay the remainder of his salary to Molly Brown and her kids.

The reality is that Josh Brown is still the prominent financial provider for Molly Brown and the couples children. Josh Brown behavior should not prevent him from fulfilling his responsibilities to his family.

Josh Brown is the ultimate symbol of domestic violence

Josh Brown is a white 6’0 202 lbs 37-year old. Josh Brown on a football field does not look imposing, he looks like the average man. In fact his job as a kicker requires no contact in the gladiator sport of football. Brown does not make tackles or block. When he runs out on to the field, he is the smallest and least athletic player on the team. Which is why he is the perfect symbol.

Josh Brown is not intimidating and by all accounts of his friends and teammates, publicly is a nice man. During an interview of May of this year, Molly Brown said in divorce court, that she told her friends, former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselback and his wife and former center Chris Spencer and his wife about Josh’s abuse. .

Josh Brown for years used his looks and faith to hide what kind of monster he was to his friends, his employers and the police. What his friends didn’t know is that Brown is what domestic violence looks like. From the outside everything looks perfectly normal, but behind closed doors that normal person reveals their sinister side.

Remember Josh Brown does not look like a professional football player, so he was treated like everyone else when the police are called to deal with this issue.

Plenty of men (women to a far lesser extent) go back to work and church the next day as if nothing out of the ordinary is going on. Wouldn’t Josh Brown’s presence on the field make that point?

Now that the world knows of his heinous crimes of torture that Josh Brown inflicted on his family, the fans and league don’t want to see him on the field at Met-Life stadium. Wrong!

If the the NFL and the New York Giants want the public to believe that they take domestic violence seriously then they should be willing to put him on the field. Show the world that Josh Brown was an employee that his bosses contracted knowing that he had been abuse to his wife and children.

Let the crowds at the games and the people watching at home boo Josh Brown as loud as they can. Allow the advocates who support domestic violence victims come to the games, picket and boycott. At that time when Josh Brown’s presence has created a media and public circus, changes can be made in legislation and in homes. Use public shame as the ultimate deterrent to this evil.

Public shame is a powerful tool and can rally the public together to create positive changes.

In 2007 quarterback Michael Vick went to prison for his part in a dog-fighting ring. Now think, when was the attention to the problem animal cruelty most prevalent?

If for some reason you are worried about Josh Brown’s feelings, the New York Giants are willing to support him, or at least they were.
“We’re not going to turn our back on Josh. He’s a teammate and a guy who we’re hoping makes strides,” Giants coach Ben Mcadoo said.

“He certainly admitted to us that he abused his wife in the past,” Giant’s Owner John Mara said in a radio interview on WFAN New York. “What’s a little unclear is the extent of that.” John Mara said that the Giants did their due diligence before resigning Josh Brown.

“Obviously, it is an unfortunate situation for all parties,” wide receiver Victor Cruz said. “But as a teammate, I am behind Josh Brown. I just want him to get himself right and make sure that he is able to overcome these things. It is not an easy thing, obviously, involving his personal life. But as an individual, I just want him to overcome and see where it goes.”

Unfortunately with Josh Brown’s release the NFL once again has missed the opportunity to confront this issue.

The NFL should stop trying imitate law enforcement

If the NFL is serious, which they are not, about solving domestic violence then they shouldn’t be afraid to put Josh Brown at the forefront of this problem. After all they are not the police, who were called on 10 separate occasions to the Brown residence before they made an arrest.

The NFL has got no business punishing Josh Brown for this incident at all, especially since they have mishandled all situation regarding this plague of violence.

Which is the nationwide problem the league could highlight with Josh Brown on the field.

Instead he is fired from his job and now his family has the burden of finding a new income. The rest of the nation will forget about this issue of domestic violence with no face to associate with the crime. It’s definitely not a perfect world.